Prime Minister Narendra Modi will dedicate to the nation the 216-ft-tall statue of Vaishnavaite sage Sri Ramanujacharya, also known as the Statue of Equality, at the Chinna Jeeyar Swamy Ashram in Hyderabad.
The statue is being unveiled in commemoration of the sage’s 1000th birth anniversary who during his time had reformed the Hindu society.
The Ramanuja statue is made of panchaloha — an alloy of five metals namely gold, silver, copper, brass, and zinc, and is mounted on a 54-foot-high base building named ‘Bhadra Vedi’. It is one of the tallest metallic statues in sitting position in the world.
The Bhadra Vedi has a Vedic digital library and research centre comprising of ancient Indian texts, a theatre and an educational gallery on the works of Ramanujacharya. It was conceptualised by Sri Chinna Jeeyar Swamy of Sri Ramanujacharya Ashram.
Prior to inaugurating the statue, the Prime Minister will also kick-start the 50th anniversary celebrations of Icrisat (International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics) and inaugurate two research facilities — Climate Change Research Facility on Plant Protection and Rapid Generation Advancement Facility — on the campus. The two facilities are dedicated to small farmers of Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. He would also unveil a specially designed logo of Icrisat and launch a commemorative stamp issued on the occasion.
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